Stanford Rape Case Judge Aaron Persky Cleared of Misconduct

When Brock Turner was sentenced to a mere six months in jail for sexually assaulting an unconscious woman on Stanford's campus—of which, he served only three—outraged members of the public started a petition and recall campaign to remove judge Aaron Persky from the bench. Persky could have handed out a 14-year sentence to Turner, who showed no remorse for his vile actions throughout his trial—where he blamed "party culture." Now, Persky has officially been cleared of misconduct in the trial, as the California Commission on Judicial Performance said they found insufficient evidence of any bias.

"The commission has concluded that there is not clear and convincing evidence of bias, abuse of authority, or other basis to conclude that Judge Persky engaged in judicial misconduct warranting discipline," the panel concluded, as AP News reports. The commission did, however, address the petitions and demands for a recall campaign. Apparently, they received "thousands of complaints and petitions regarding Persky and the sentence," AP reports.

Michele Dauber, the chair of the Recall Judge Persky Campaign, said in a statement, "We will continue to proceed with the recall election as it is important for Santa Clara County voters to decide whether Judge Persky should remain on the bench. This report simply highlights what we have been saying from the beginning, which is that a petition for judicial discipline was not the correct venue to address these concerns, and the recall is the only realistic way to remove Judge Persky from office. Under the California Constitution, Judge Persky is an elected official and voters have the right to decide whether he should continue to serve on the bench for the next six years."

"We believe that the record is completely clear that Judge Persky has a long record of failing to take violence against women seriously, and we will demonstrate when we launch the campaign early next year," Dauber concluded. "We believe that voters support the recall and replace Judge Persky. The Recall Campaign has raised sufficient funds to collect the signatures needed to place Judge Persky's recall on the ballot and we will do so beginning in April, 2017."

“We believe that the record is completely clear that Judge Persky has a long record of failing to take violence against women seriously, and we will demonstrate when we launch the campaign early next year. We believe that voters support the recall and replace Judge Persky. The Recall Campaign has raised sufficient funds to collect the signatures needed to place Judge Persky's recall on the ballot and we will do so beginning in April, 2017."

This troubling news comes on the heels of a report that Stanford University, where the assault occurred, has a history of mishandling cases like Doe's. Earlier this month, Stanford was found out to have offered settlements to sexual assault victims on the condition that they remain silent and withdraw their complaints about how the university handled their cases. Doe said it best, earlier this year, when she was honored as one of Glamour's Women of the Year: "Victims are not victims, not some fragile, sorrowful aftermath. Victims are survivors, and survivors are going to be doing a hell of a lot more than surviving."

Read more of Doe's words here, and, if you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, know that you can seek help by calling the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 800-656-HOPE (4673).